


Sudden Desire

by roseslotusvioletiris



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Getting Together, Jay’s ex Allie, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23227498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseslotusvioletiris/pseuds/roseslotusvioletiris
Summary: Hailey finds alcohol, jealousy, and possible reciprocation of feelings to not be a good mix. And then deals with the consequences.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 27
Kudos: 211





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Very excited for this fic. Appreciated the challenge of writing a kissing scene and then what is to come in the second half... :-) Also want to point out that I’m posting this at almost 5 in the morning and I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep? Guess I’m pulling an all-nighter on my last day of being 22! I haven’t started the second part of this fic but hopefully it will be up within the next week. Enjoy and as always I don’t own anything and also I take prompts at @hailey-halstead :) 
> 
> Oh, and the title is from Hayley Williams’ song called Sudden Desire! Kind of fits for Upstead. Definitely think they are fighting a sudden desire... also, stream her solo album (well at least the music that is already out!)

“You looked like you needed another.” 

Hailey slightly jumped as a new bottle of beer was placed in front of her. Kim slid into the booth across from her, a sympathetic smile on her face. 

Hailey quickly took a long sip. The refreshing taste of a cold beer was a welcomed distraction. “Thanks.” She told her co-worker. Her eyes however were elsewhere, particularly on a booth on the other side of Molly’s. 

Where her partner Jay Halstead was sitting. And not alone. He was with a gorgeous woman. They looked like they knew each other well too, as when the woman arrived they embraced in a tight hug. 

She had feelings for him, she’s known this for awhile now. During work it was easier to manage, putting her focus into cases. 

Interacting with him outside of Intelligence was difficult at times. She tried to avoid him at first, but that proved to be impossible. He was her closest friend. Not only was she unable to keep her distance, he made it difficult as well. His texts about grabbing a bite to eat, watching tv, or having drinks.... they seemed to have heightened ever since he was shot. 

Realistically, she knew nothing has changed in that regard. He was contacting her the same amount as he always has. Reminding herself of this did nothing to ease the thoughts and feelings she was experiencing though. It was impossible to go back to how she was with him before. 

So far she’s been managing it well. But with a front row seat of Jay interacting with another woman.....she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. 

Kim reached out and touched her arm. “You should talk to him.” She was clearly referencing Jay.

Hailey feigned nonchalance. “He looks busy.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness fully out of her voice. 

Kim rolled her eyes. “He’s never too busy for you.” 

The way Jay was leaning forward and smiling said otherwise. With a sigh, Hailey got up from the booth, unable to stomach the sight any longer. 

“I’m heading out.” She told Kim, pulling out some cash despite the protests. “Thanks for the drink.” She took the bottle with her, planning on throwing it out as she left the bar. 

If she was in the front of Molly’s, her escape would have been simple. But no, she was in the back. And more concerning, Jay was in the front. 

She was tempted to ask Stella if she could head out the back door reserved for employees, but felt silly. She was a grown woman and a Chicago cop for Christ sakes, she could walk past Jay. Instead she put her head down and headed towards the doors with a considerable amount of pace. Maybe he would be too distracted and not notice her walking by. 

Of course he looked up as she was going past. He reached out and grabbed her elbow before she could escape to safety. “Hailey!” 

The easy-going smile on his face was the nail in the coffin. Her mind couldn’t help but point out that she was usually the one who caused that smile to appear. 

But she attempted to mirror one back. She wasn’t sure it worked, but he seemed unfazed. 

“I was just talking about you,” It was pathetic how her heart soared at the flippant comment. “I want you to meet an old friend of mine, Allie.”

Allie flashed a smile of her own, wide and blinding with pearly white teeth, and held her hand out eagerly. “I’ve been waiting to meet the woman who keeps Jay in line.” 

Waiting? Despite the confusion whirling around her brain, Hailey took the offered hand. “Nice to meet you.” She said as casually as she could. 

Before she could voice a flimsy excuse for her departure, Jay slid further in his booth and gestured to the empty space. “Come on, join us.” 

She did. She took the spot next to her partner, mindful of their legs being pressed against each other as she got situated. 

Once she did, she made sure to keep her distance as much as possible. A feat that ended up being unachievable, as the booths at Molly’s have always been a tight fit. Feeling Jay’s shoulder and leg against her own was not a good distraction. 

At least she had her drink to keep her company. After taking a sip of courage, Hailey attempted to be cordial and asked Ally a question. “How did you two meet?” 

“Junior high.” Allie said with a chuckle. “You should have seen Jay’s mohawk he tried to pull off back then.” The fond glance she gave him reared the green monster inside of Hailey. 

“No, she can never see that!” Jay protested, his laugh eliminating any seriousness of his statement. 

She tucked this information in the back of her mind for later. When she saw Will next she would definitely be bringing up the mohawk. 

Externally she forced out a laugh, knowing the situation called for it. Hell, under normal circumstances she would have found it extremely comical.

Get it together, she told herself, mindful of the concerned glance from Jay. She knew he would notice her atypical behavior at some point. 

Grasping for a display of normalcy, she found herself questioning Allie again. “What brings you to Chicago?”

Allie’s smile dimmed. “Uh, it would have been my little brother’s birthday yesterday. Just in town to see my parents.” 

Before Hailey could even react, Jay leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Ben.” 

The name of the boy whose case still haunted Jay sent her into a tailspin of emotions. Sadness, concern, and to her dismay, more jealousy. The reason why the case was so close to Jay was because Allie was his high school sweetheart. 

This only made Hailey want to leave more. Selfishly because of how envious she was but she also felt incredibly intrusive. She didn’t know Dylan at all, and they were probably honoring his memory.

“I should probably go,” She gestured to her empty bottle, beginning to stand up. “It’s a sign.” 

They didn’t need to know her actual reasons for leaving. 

Jay frowned slightly. She tried to ignore how adorable he looked when he was upset. “No, stay. I’ll get you another.”

Hailey shook her head. Even though she wanted another she had to drive home. “I drove here.” She could hold her alcohol well, but she knew she over did it tonight. Before Kim had gave her her current drink she had already consumed a beer and bourbon. 

“I’ll take you home.” Before she could protest, he was out of the booth as well, stepping past her and heading towards Stella. 

Which left her alone with Allie. Hailey desperately scraped her brain for anything to talk about, anything that would depict normalcy. This wasn’t a random woman, this was someone who was important to Jay. 

At least it was enough to make her jealousy background noise. Still lingering, but not at the forefront. 

“Must be nice to see Jay again.” Was what she came up with, and a more genuine smile at Allie. She could do this. She was Jay’s friend, not his girlfriend. She had no claim over him. 

But she couldn’t help but notice how big Allie’s smile got when Jay was mentioned. “Yes, really nice.” 

While Hailey panicked over what to talk about next, Allie began to talk herself. She took on a serious tone, immediately capturing Hailey’s attention. 

“He really likes you.” 

Hailey blinked, not expecting those words to come out of Allie’s mouth. 

Everything was turning out to be different from what she originally observed. Jay wasn’t interested in Ally, and it appeared Ally wasn’t interested in him either. They were truly just two friends catching up. 

And now Allie was trying to open Hailey’s mind to the possibility of Jay having reciprocating feelings? 

This was simultaneously better and worse than anything her jealous thoughts had come up with. Believing she had a chance was more dangerous than any Intelligence case she worked on. 

Knowing her silence was getting suspicious, Hailey forced herself to talk. “That’s good to hear,” She wished she had a full bottle of beer in front of her. “Good for our partnership if we like each other.” 

Allie looked like she had more to say, but Jay was back with drinks. He placed three beers on the table, unaware of the topic of conversation. 

Hailey had to leave. Get back to the comfort of her home and try desperately to forget this night ever happened. 

Like she did earlier with Kim, Hailey burrowed through her wallet for some dollar bills to cover the drink Jay bought. But all she could find were a few tens and a twenty. 

She put a ten down anyways. “I have to go,” She lamely said with no reason at all. “It was nice to meet you, Allie.” She managed to force a smile at the woman before practically jumping out of the booth. 

The cool night air was a welcomed change from the congested and humid filled Molly’s. Hailey couldn’t help but stand outside for a brief second to close her eyes and take a deep breath, letting her mind rest. 

“Hailey.” Her eyes jolted back open at the sound of Jay’s voice. She internally cursed at herself, she knew that he would follow but got caught up in her relief of escapement. 

She began walking towards her car parked less than a block away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jay.” Short and firm. She would have to main her composure for a little while longer, as Jay won’t back off right away. And if he saw any sign of something else brewing beneath the surface, he would only push more. 

It was how their partnership and friendship worked. When she was trying to control her strong feelings for him however, it felt like he was dangling a carrot in front of her. 

“Hailey, stop.” He reached out for her, taking her hand into his. Another tease, although she knew the act was intentional. 

She yanked her arm back towards herself, wrapping both of them across her chest. “What?” She feigned confusion, tilting her head to the side. If she acted like nothing was wrong maybe he would leave. 

The alcohol she imbibed definitely was affecting her judgement. Because there was no way in hell he was leaving. “You’ve been acting weird all night, from the moment I walked into Molly’s—“ 

She interrupted him. “You were watching me?” He had to have been in the bar for at least 15 minutes before she joined him and Allie. 

He stopped talking, clearly flustered. This was not a normal sight with Jay. It was too bad she was in her own particular state because she would have definitely taken the opportunity to make fun of him. 

“I haven’t been feeling good all night.” She shrugged, once again trying to deflect. But she was treading dangerous territory because her statement was true. And if she was starting to be honest with him, who knew what secrets would end up revealing themselves. 

“Why?” Jay stepped closer. If Hailey wanted she could extend her arm out and make contact with his chest. 

(She hated that she did want to do exactly that.) 

“Was it Allie?” 

God, if it was just Allie she would still be at Molly’s. Allie brought everything into fruition. 

Hailey had two reasons in denying her feelings for Jay. One was work, the second was her belief in him not having reciprocating feelings. 

Entertaining the possibility of him being in love with her was a door she never before allowed herself to open. But now it was bursted open, and she was desperate to find away to shut it. 

So she needed to get away. Now. But with every second that went by, every second she was with Jay, the urge lessened. 

He took another step. “Hailey.” 

God, why wouldn’t he stop saying her name? And especially how he was saying it, as if he was reaching out and caressing her cheek. The intimacy packed in a single word was too much. 

That combined with his brief but noticeable glance down at her lips finally broke her. Her body overtook her. Arm wrapping around his neck, hand in his hair, and her mouth on his. 

He overwhelmed each and every one of her senses. She first registered the taste of alcohol on his lips, the pleasantness of it making her toes curl. The potentness only increased as they both opened their mouths to introduce their tongues to each other. 

His hands were firmly on her hips, and although she had a layer of clothes in between, she swore her skin was burning. 

In the haze of passion, she let herself go. Consumed completely by the man in front of her, whose lips were as sweet and addicting as she had imagined them to be and small gasps only increasing the pool of heat in her stomach.

It was only when they broke apart, for the necessity of breathing, that panic fully made its way through Hailey’s system. 

She ruined everything. The most important relationship she had, both work and friendship wise, tarnished. How could they come back from this? 

“That never happened.” She stupidly spluttered out, regret filling her as hurt crossed Jay’s face. “This can’t...” 

She attempted her original trek down the sidewalk, and when Jay tried to gain her attention, this time she was successful at evading him. 

She’s at her car when he yelled out to her. “There’s no way I’m letting you drive.” 

She rose her hand in the air to shoo him away, too angry and embarrassed to give him an automatic response. She only realized the ridiculousness of it as she lowered it back down. “I’ll get a ride.” 

She slid into her car hastily, letting out a huge gasp of air when she shut the door behind her.

There was one person she knew who wasn’t at Molly’s right now and Hailey desperately hoped she would pick up the phone. When she heard a greeting from Vanessa, Hailey couldn’t hold back a sigh of relief. 

“I need you to come pick me up.” She said into the phone, clutching it closely to her ear. She couldn’t resist looking back behind her. 

Jay was still there, watching her. Thank god she couldn’t see his face though. She slinked lower in her seat, paranoid he could see her despite how late it was. But no matter how low she sunk, she still felt his eyes. Although they only kissed, it was as if he saw her entire body, inside and out. 

Vanessa displayed clear confusion on the other side. “I thought you drove?”

“I, uh, drank too much.” Hailey could have left it at that, but knew somehow and someway Vanessa would find out what happened. She was notorious at figuring out Hailey’s feelings and thoughts. So she squeezed her eyes shut and forced the next words out, knowing when she voiced them aloud there was no going back. “.....And I kissed Jay.” 

Hailey didn’t need to see physically Vanessa to know her jaw dropped. “Shit.” Was all her roommate said. 

Hailey pressed her hand to her forehead with a loud groan. “Shit indeed.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of kissing your partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Wow, I did not think this would take me this long.... writing “getting together” fics are definitely the bane of my existence. also, yes I realize my ending of this is kind of lame but I’m queen of lame endings. ALSO, I was just going to have them kiss for forever and ever but I needed them to hug because they NEVER hug platonically! Hope everyone is safe and healthy! As always I don’t own anything and I take prompts at hailey-halstead on tumblr !
> 
> Also stream sudden desire by Hayley Williams. Hell, stream all her music. Solo and paramore. She’s the reason I’m surviving this pandemic

Hailey called in sick yesterday. 

She never considered herself the type to hide, but that was before she made out with Jay Halstead. A day to recoup was necessary.

Voight seemed concerned but didn’t ask questions. She never took off work, he probably assumed it was for a good reason, if he didn’t buy her “I’m sick” bullshit answer. 

But the time off only made her dread the next day even more. The fear would not go anywhere unless she confronted the situation. 

Which would have to wait until after work. She already missed a day’s worth of paperwork and cases, she had to be completely focused while she was on the clock. 

Vanessa thought she should have talked to Jay last night. Looking back, Hailey couldn’t disagree. But she let fear control her and so had to get through hours of working side by side with Jay. 

Vanessa’s voice brought her back to reality. “You ready for this?” Her car made a beep as they were walking away from it, signalizing it was locked. She pressed it again for good measure. Hailey didn’t comment, knowing that her behavior was one of her tendencies influenced by her childhood. 

She couldn’t help but let a sigh escape her mouth. “It’s just work.” She reminded her roommate. But the knowing glance she was sent only made her stomach flip with nerves. 

They walked inside the district where Trudy immediately made notice of Hailey’s absence yesterday. “Nice to see you back, detective.” 

“Good to be back.” She was grateful she didn’t have to lie with that response. While she purposely stayed away, it was definitely only for the sake of Jay. She found herself really missing work while cooped up in her house. 

Trudy gave a grunt in response, eyes now on paperwork that was in her hands. Taking it as a cue for them to move on, Vanessa and Hailey headed towards the stairs. 

Hailey tried to ignore Vanessa’s eyes on her as she pressed the 4-digit code into the pad. She quickly went through the door, wanting to leave Vanessa and her heavy gaze behind. 

Of course Jay was right by the board, making their interaction happen immediately. 

He smiled when he saw her. An awkward one, but nonetheless still a smile. 

It gave her both relief and fear. She wasn’t sure what reaction she wanted from him. She desperately wanted normalcy between them, but at the same time the thought of him acting like their kiss was nothing was a punch in the gut. 

She mirrored his expression. She made the interaction as short as she could in order to escape to her desk. 

The paperwork in front of her was never a more welcomed sight. She opened it greedily, ready for her mind to be consumed by work. 

She was doing a pretty good job at it until Jay walked by her desk and sat in his own. Right across from her. Her eyes flickered up at him briefly before returning to the words on her pages. She found herself staring so hard that the sentences were beginning to blur together. 

Jay’s voice broke through her attempted concentration. “Hailey?” 

She felt her muscles begin to tighten. Maybe it was work related, she tried to convince herself. “Yeah?” Her eyes remained where they were, resisting the urge to look at Jay. 

His voice dropped, along with her stomach. Whatever he was about to say was not related to work. “Can we talk?”

She knew exactly what he was referencing to. It wasn’t surprising at all that he would want to talk about a personal manner right smack dab in the middle of work. A spark of annoyance went through her. “No, we can’t.” 

Before he could say anything else, Voight stepped out of his office. He began talking about a new case they were given, a string of murders attached to a local gang. 

Hailey swung her chair around to follow Voight’s movement to the other side of the room. She was desperate to get up and actively work on something. 

Desperate to get the man behind her off of her mind. 

It worked while Voight was describing the case, as Hailey easily slipped into her work mindset. However, when he began to assign tasks, she found herself beginning to slip. 

“Okay, Jay and Hailey—“

Fear caused her to speak without thinking. “Actually, I think Vanessa and I should work together on this, Sarge.” Somehow the words came out smooth despite the panic they arose from. 

Voight gave her a questioning look. “Didn’t you ask specifically to be partners with Jay again?” 

Everyone’s eyes were on her. And even though she couldn’t see, Jay’s eyes felt the heaviest. “It’s good to keep my eye on her from time to time.” She retorted, raising her eyebrow at Vanessa. 

Vanessa, who knew exactly what was going on, managed to keep a straight face and give the small acknowledgment of a head nod. 

Thankfully Voight didn’t press for more information. “Jay you’re with Kim then.” 

After Voight gave specific instructions, Hailey practically bolted to Vanessa’s desk. She knew once given the opportunity, Jay was going to confront her about her request to change partners. 

She needed to avoid him though. At all costs. She always took pride in her ability to stay professional at work, no matter the situation. Jay slowly was becoming an exception to that, and she didn’t know how to handle it except with avoidance. 

Especially after what happened last night. 

“Ready to go?” She asked Vanessa, trying to hide her eagerness to get the hell out of the building. And more importantly, away from Jay.

Vanessa’s eyes flickered to her right before answering. Hailey’s stomach swooped down, knowing exactly who she was eyeing. Her awareness of the situation made it hard to push everything away. “Born ready.” She said with an easy smile.

And with that, they left and Hailey was able to go more time avoiding Jay. 

———

Their stakeout took up the rest of their day. While this meant cramped legs and becoming stir-crazy, Hailey would take it over working with her partner she kissed any day. 

This also considered the fact she dealt with interrogation regarding Jay from Vanessa for pretty much the whole time. She gave her some moments to breathe, but for the most part did not cut Hailey loose. 

Normally Hailey wouldn’t allow Vanessa to press. But honestly, she was tired. Tired of not only holding these feelings for Jay, but both continuously resisting them and attacking herself for having them. 

So she talked. A lot. Voicing her fears of what could happen, why all the potential possibilities scared her to death. 

She dwelled mostly on the one that spooked her the most. Risking a romance that may not work out would destroy the relationship they had before. And what they have now is great, almost perfect. 

While she wanted him, the kiss outside of Molly’s only increased her desires, she ultimately wanted any kind of relationship with him more. 

Vanessa interrupted her negative musing often. One particular question still stuck with Hailey though. “Why do you think it’s going to go wrong?” Vanessa had asked her, stopping Hailey in mid sentence. “What if it goes right? What if it’s the best decision you ever make?”

It was the reason she was standing outside of Jay’s house. 

She wasn’t even sure he was home until she arrived and saw his kitchen lights on. While she was tempted to give him a heads up for courtesy reasons, yet again she found herself allowing fear to control her. The thought of him knowing she was coming to talk to him was too much for her to bear. 

As she rose her hand to press the doorbell, she noticed that it was visibly shaking. 

“Come on Hailey,” She whispered to herself in frustration, shoving her hand into the pocket of her jacket after she heard to doorbell ring. “Get yourself together.” 

She didn’t have a chance to as seconds after ringing the doorbell, the door opened. Jay appeared on the other side, not looking surprised to see her. He had been expecting her. 

His facial expression didn’t let any of his emotions out, but his lack of a greeting was enough insight on how he was currently feeling. 

He then disappeared, leaving her there. Hailey followed him into his kitchen, wanting to explain her behavior. 

“I know it seems like I’ve been ignoring you—“ She began to say, to which Jay quickly interjected his own words.

“You have been ignoring me.” He pointed out. He sounded annoyed. 

“I haven’t—“ She stopped, remembering yesterday. Taking off work, declining his calls. So maybe he was right. “Okay, maybe I have.” She conceded, resisting the urge to get closer to him. Having a few feet in between them was necessary for her own sake. “But I needed to clear my head.” 

When he took a step closer, she took one back. “Jay.” She warned, heart pounding. 

He ignored her protests. The distance between them was getting smaller. She soon found herself back against the wall. 

There had to have been no more than an inch between them. 

“We can’t do this.” She firmly told him. Internally however she was beginning to waver. Having Jay this close to her was not part of her carefully thought out plan. 

“Then why are you here, Hailey?” His voice was soft, pleading. Combined with big questioning eyes it was as if she was simultaneously being punched in the gut and having a fire lit in her belly. “Why are we fighting this?”

Her throat went dry at the insinuation of his words. She had a plan in mind for how this would go, regardless of his reaction. She would sit him down and explain her side of the story, her feelings, in a logical manner. Complete control of the situation. 

But now all she wanted to do was kiss him. 

Unable to connect her brain to her mouth, Hailey did the next best thing. She pushed Jay hard, according to her standards. Usually it wouldn’t have had such an affect on him but she caught him off guard, causing him to take multiple steps back. 

Before he could start talking again, Hailey quickly threw words out. “Just, let me talk.” They came out more desperate than she intended. 

Thankfully, he obliged. She also appreciated him remaining where he was. 

Confident she had time to breathe, Hailey took a moment to collect her thoughts. As she began to speak, she willed herself to look directly into Jay’s eyes. 

Time to rip off the bandaid. 

“I’m in love with you.” And the rest of the words tumbled out. “God, I’ve been in love with you for so long. I realized it in January, when, you know.” She gestured towards his shoulder, the one that was shot. 

Realization dawned on his face. “That’s what you wanted to tell me.” 

She nodded, forcing herself to speak again before he made a move, either vocally or physically. “What we have, our partnership, our friendship, whatever you want to call it, is the most important thing to me. I don’t want to lose it.” Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, as they always did whenever she let her mind venture this far with her feelings for Jay. 

She allowed herself a few rapid blinks to clear her vision before continuing on. “So I pushed my feelings away. Focused on work, trying to bring things back to how it used to be. But fuck, was it hard. I started to realize that I couldn’t go back to normal.” She let out a hoarse laugh, no humor detected. 

Jay began to open his mouth to voice his own thoughts, but Hailey shook her head. She needed to say more before she closed herself off again. The urge was excruciating, there yelling and screaming ever since she decided on coming to his house and making this confession. 

She was beginning to realize though that keeping everything in was doing shit. 

“I thought it would be okay though, because you didn’t like me in that way. At least it was necessary for me to think that.” Memories from two nights ago began to weave their way into her mind. “But Allie said you liked me, and so I stupidly kissed you—“

“Hailey, I kissed you back.” 

“I know!” She snapped, stomping her foot for emphasis out of sheer frustration. After doing so, she immediately felt foolish. She wasn’t the type to express her emotions in such a childish way. Hell, she wasn’t the type to lose control of her emotions. “I know.” She repeated herself, softer and subdued. 

“I’ve been avoiding you because I was afraid of what will change between us.” The next words were even harder to admit. “And I was terrified that nothing would have changed as well.” 

She kept quiet until Jay gave a response of his own. She found herself needing encouragement to move forward, a reminder that he wanted to hear what she had to say. “And now?” 

“I’m still terrified,” She admitted, willing herself to take a step forward. Closer to Jay. “But I can’t let fear keep me from what I want. And what is good for me, for us.” She corrected herself before continuing. “Which I think is us being together—“ 

The rest of her sentence went unsaid as Jay closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against her own. 

Unlike two nights ago, this kiss was slower and hesitant. However the same level of passion remained. They had all the time in the world and were able to explore each other on a sensual level. 

Jay broke free first. Hailey instinctively tried to follow his lips, but quickly realized her own need to take a few breaths. 

As she began to compose herself, he reached forward and brushed loose strands of her hair back. Her heart seemed like it would jump out of her chest at any second. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time now.” A smile appeared on his face, a genuine one. It was always a sight to behold not only because of its rarity, Jay could be too serious for his own good at times, but also because of how beautiful he looked. “But I was too stubborn to see it.” 

She laughed, the action sounding only a little wobbly. This was all extremely overwhelming. “To be fair, we’re both very stubborn.” 

She wanted to continue kissing him, badly. But instead she followed an even stronger instinct. She wrapped her arms around Jay’s waist, allowing her head to rest against his chest. 

He slowly reciprocated, most likely not expecting this reaction from her. To be fair, it surprised her at first. How she had a stronger urge to hug him than kiss. But their relationship was never a physical kind, despite their close friendship and partnership for years. Anything more than a friendly touch on the shoulder always seemed too intimate. 

“What are you thinking about?” Jay’s chin was now resting on her head, and as he talked, she felt the vibration of his vocal cords with her head tucked against his neck. It was nice. 

“I really like hugging you.” She told him. Her voice was muffled by her speaking into his chest, so she wondered if he was able to hear her. 

A few seconds later she got her reply. His lips pressed briefly against the top of her head, something she may have missed if she wasn’t hyper aware of every movement Jay was making. “Me too.”


End file.
